


Dark Night

by Smart_heart



Series: Halloween Shenanigans [3]
Category: Hilda (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Vampire AU, halloween countdown
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:34:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27262066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smart_heart/pseuds/Smart_heart
Summary: For some people, storms are a sign of bad luck coming. For Maven, lonely in her secluded castle, they meant she’d get to see her favourite human. Things change, however, when Johanna shows a longing for change, and Maven has no idea whether this will be good or ruin themVampire!librarian AU
Relationships: Johanna | Hilda's Mum/The Librarian (Hilda)
Series: Halloween Shenanigans [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1987705
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	Dark Night

**Author's Note:**

> Only two days for Halloween, where are the vampire librarian stans at? This fic was inspired by a post, I’ll put the link below. Also I once more threw any historical accuracy out of the window. At first I was going to do a tribal celtic kind of thing, but then I realized it absolutely did not match the whole vampire thing and gave up. It’s probably set by the end of the Renaissance or something
> 
> https://nardacci-does-art.tumblr.com/post/626034163548585984/me-wearing-nothing-but-a-sheer-plunge-neck

The night was dark and cold outside, with a biting wind that couldn’t be stopped even by the warmest of coats. The last thing someone would think about in a night like that was leaving their home to wander in the woods, and that’s what made Maven sure that she’d come. 

The first time Johanna had knocked at the doors of her castle, she’d been lost. Rain had been pouring down violently, making her soaking wet, water dripping from tendrils of hair which stuck to her face.

_She hated to intrude_ , she’d explained, _but she’d been picking mushrooms in the woods and the rain caught her unprepared._

Maven had let her in, of course. Not only because she wasn’t cruel enough to lock a seemingly harmless human out in the storm, but also because she had been intrigued. The woman couldn’t have walked too far just to pick mushrooms, meaning she had to live in one of the villages at the base of the hill in which her castle was. That being the case, she’d certainly heard the tales about the monster that inhabited the looming fortress, and if she was there at that very moment, she either didn’t believe them or was brave enough to face what everybody else would tell her not to.

Despite Johanna’s assurances that all she needed was a place to stay for the night, Maven had given her food (no matter what the villagers said, vampires _did_ eat things other than blood) and a warm seat by the fire. Come morning, the woman had been gone, and Maven had assumed this would have been it. But it hadn’t been. 

A week later, Johanna had been at her door again. It hadn’t been raining that time, but the sun had already begun to set, in a way that she wouldn’t have been able to get back to her village before night fell and those parts became dangerous. She’d been invited in once more, seeming more at ease. She accepted the meal Maven had offered her without much deliberation, and gone as far as being curious about the castle. Maven had thought she would have been eager to fall asleep by the fireplace again, to be on her way as soon as morning came. Instead, she’d shown a lot of interest in some of the objects she saw, asking Maven for their stories, which she told gladly. When the birds began to sing, she once again left, and once again Maven thought she’d never come to see the intriguing woman again, and once more she’d been proven wrong.

On the third time she came, she hadn’t been so subtle. Her cover story was the same, that she’d been in the forest and lost track of the time, but that time she’d conveniently brought a pie which she’d baked into the woods, which she said she’d be delighted to share with the lady. Maven hadn’t wanted to flatter herself and think Johanna enjoyed her presence, after all she gave her food and warmth, two things that many villagers often went without, but she was no fool to continue thinking the visits were unintentional.

On that third night, Johanna had politely asked her to show her more of the castle. Though they’d spent most of the night in the last room Maven showed her, the library, the stronger memory they both had of that night was of the ballroom. The ample space was seldom used for its original purpose, of course, due to Maven’s secluded lifestyle, and seeing Johanna walk into it had made her feel like she’d breathed new air into the room, as if she’d brought some of her light inside her castle and made it shine at its core.

Taking Maven by surprise, something which she seemed to have gotten good at, Johanna had extended her hand and asked for a dance. Maven had been helpless to comply, and a group of instruments, which lied forgotten in a corner of the ballroom, sprang to life as if by magic, playing them an elegant tune Maven recognized though she couldn’t point out when it was she’d heard it. Maven interlaced her fingers with Johanna, one of her hands on her waistline, and they waltzed to the tune. That was the closest a human had willingly gotten to her in longer than she cared to remember.

When she left after that night, Maven had _hoped_ she would have come back. Those visits had brought a warmth into her heart that she’d gone many years without even remembering how it felt, to care about someone else. And that time she’d been right, for week after week, Johanna thought it was an amazing idea to leave her house when the weather threatened to change and lost track of time in the woods, being forced to seek shelter at the vampire’s castle.

And she did know Maven was a vampire. Whether that was the case when they first met or not, Johanna had surely noticed at that point. Maven still remembered how her breath had caught in her throat when she had looked at one of the mirrors in the ballroom and only seen herself. Johanna had been shocked, she recalled, but she must have already had suspicions, because her surprise didn’t last long.

“Oh, we look so-” Johanna had been saying, one hand on Maven’s shoulder and the other with Maven’s own, when she looked at the mirror by the wall and saw only herself, dancing with emptiness. Her eyes had widened and she had inhaled sharply, but when she looked at Maven again she only smiled. “Beautiful!”

Maven had been too distracted wondering if she’d stop coming after noticing the tales were true to wonder about her comment. But she didn’t, and even if that hadn’t happened, even if Maven had taken care not to take her anywhere with mirrors, then Johanna would have noticed her sharp fangs in one of the many times she’d made her laugh, or the way her nose scrunched when she mentioned her village’s parish. It wasn’t ignorance that made her keep coming back, but they never talked about that. There was an unspoken agreement between the two of them for Johanna to pretend she didn’t know, and for Maven to pretend she hadn’t seen it when she noticed. It was simpler that way.

The visits had become a spot of colour in Maven’s black and white world. Johanna had offered to bring life back into her home, into her soul, and she’d allowed her to. What bad did it cause to talk over a glass of wine and steal glances at each other while they read? And if when Maven offered Johanna a room for the night, she climbed in bed with so the two women could cuddled together despite the warmth from the fireplace, then the world was none the wiser. 

Something had changed, though. The last time Johanna had been in her castle, saying she’d gotten lost in the woods and couldn’t come back home straightway because of the violent wind outside, she’d said something that had startled Maven before going away.

“Would you like me to bring Hilda the next time I come here?” She’d asked when Maven was about to see her out in the morning. “I think she’d love to meet you.”

Any coherent thoughts had been snatched out of Maven’s mind upon hearing those words. That wasn’t supposed to happen. With that simple question, Johanna had broken their silent accordance, the barrier that kept them at arm’s reach of each other at the same time that it kept them safe. _Bring Hilda the next time._ It was a spoken confession that she didn’t just happen to get lost in the woods often, even if they knew that already. It was a sign of clear desire for Maven to be a bigger part of her life.

It was the end of their relationship as it had been, and they would never be able to go back to where they’d been.

“No, I don’t think that would be a good idea. Not… not next time, at least.” She’d answered, even though she would have liked nothing best than to meet young Hilda. The way her mother talked about her made her sound like a fascinating girl, but besides that, meeting her would be one more step inside Johanna’s life, one she realized she desperately wanted to take, but couldn’t.

Johanna had been disappointed, but she hadn't had it show on her face for more than an instant. Didn’t she tire, Maven wondered, to hide her feelings for the sake of keeping the appearances between them?

She probably _did_ tire, because otherwise she wouldn’t be offering the perfect opportunity to reshape their relationship, to start again. And yet, Maven couldn’t accept, though her heart screamed at her to call Johanna back while she’d watched her walk away that morning.

That was what made her decide that she had to tell her to stop. If Johanna wanted a future, wanted commitment and love, she was wasting her time, and possibly even ruining her life by being invested in a monster. It was one thing to flirt and steal touches once a week, when the night was dark and the gloom hid them. It was entirely another to try and make them something _more_. Already, the people in Johanna’s village must be whispering theories about why she was seen climbing down the vampire’s hill so often.

If Maven didn’t stop herself, she’d ruin her.

Three knocks on her door. Maven had been right, Johanna had come that night.

She opened the door to allow her in and closed it just as quickly, so as to not let the cold in. It wouldn’t affect her if it did, but humans were sensitive to that sort of thing.

“Gosh, I didn’t see this gale coming! There’s no way I can come back home with the weather like this. Could I spend the night here, if it’s not too much of a bother?” She asked, even though she was already unclasping her cloak. Johanna was back to trying to keep appearances, and she didn’t sound too happy about it, avoiding Maven’s eyes for a few moments.

That night, it was apple cider she had taken with herself to the forest, she informed. They had it over dinner, while Johanna talked about her village’s preparations for the third harvest and Maven tried to ignore her growing feelings of despair. If she was to allow herself one last night with Johanna, she couldn’t spend it brooding.

“What do you wish to do now?” Johanna asked when the meal was over, as her host got up from her chair and walked over to her, to offer her her hand.

“I was wondering if you’d give me a dance?”

Smiling, she accepted, and they walked through the castle’s corridors hand in hand, until they reached the ballroom. It had become another of their little traditions, to waltz at least once a night. They enjoyed the closeness it brought them, and besides, where else would a woman of Johanna’s station have the chance to dance? It wasn’t like she was invited to noble’s parties all the time, but still it was something that she liked to do and Maven was all too happy to provide her with the opportunity.

The tune played by the enchanted instruments was more melancholic than usual, as if the spirits playing them knew what Maven needed to say. The ceiling high windows showed the gloomy night outside as they danced, and the lit chandelier hanging from the red and silver ceiling made their shadows have their own waltz on the floor. Johanna looked normal, completely at ease as usual and seemingly oblivious to Maven nervousness.

It wouldn’t be fair, Maven figured, to wait until sunrise to talk to her. She had thought it might be best to, so as to spare them one awkward night, but as she pressed the human close to herself and guided her around the ballroom, the notion that she might be acting cruelly arose on her mind. Maybe if Johanna knew, she wouldn’t want to dance with her, or be near her, or do anything else they might have done that night. Besides, Maven didn’t think she’d be able to keep a calm act up for much longer.

“You can’t keep doing this.” She said briskly, as if getting the matter out of her way quickly would make it hurt less. Her voice was kept low enough so as not to echo in the room.

Johanna feigned ignorance, quirking up an eyebrow and looking at her with her sweet brown eyes as if she had no idea what Maven was talking about. The spark in them told her otherwise.

“You can’t keep coming up here.” To break their silent underhand vow felt dangerous, like stepping into a rickety bridge, but it was something that had to be done. She was only continuing what Johanna herself had done on her last visit, tearing a hole through whatever artfulness there still was to this scheme of theirs. “Coming all the way to the castle to see me.”

The only answer Maven had for a good few seconds was the sound of the phantoms playing and the wind howling outside. They didn’t stop dancing, but the vampire had to fight the urge to look away from Johanna’s face, to run from what she’d see there. It might have been just an impression, but for a moment it seemed like Johanna had sent her gaze up, as if praying for patience. Either that or she’d just rolled her eyes.

“Alright, then. In that case, I’d be honoured to have you visit me instead.”

Maven missed a step, catching herself before it could break their rhythm.

“That is not what I meant.”

“I know exactly what you meant.” Johanna snapped, not with rudeness, but rather with something urgent and exasperated about the way she spoke. Clearly, Maven had taken the hint that she hoped for a change in their rapport, and clearly she’d taken it the wrong way, overthinking it like she seemed to do with a frequency. But Johanna would not allow her to push her away. “You meant for whatever reason, you don’t want us meeting again. Very well, I won’t impose myself, but seeing as you seemed perfectly happy with our arrangement, it does get me thinking that maybe _I’m_ not the problem.”

The vampire’s brows came closer together, and a sneer lifted her lips in a way that one of her fangs was visible. She didn’t like to be thwarted, especially not since she knew Johanna’s line of thought was close to the truth, and she might have intervened had the woman not been faster.

“There’s something between us, isn’t there? And we enjoy being with each other, or at least I enjoy being with you. So I’m leaving the decision up to you, Maven. Tomorrow night, my village will celebrate Samhain, and I’d love to have you as my guest; in case you don’t show up, I’ll know you don’t want to keep up this _thing_ that we’ve got. if you do come… I suppose we will cross that bridge when we get to it.”

“This isn’t a matter of what I want.” Maven groaned, asking herself if Johanna couldn’t see she was trying to spare her the disappointment that was sure to come when she realized what exactly Maven was. Not that she’d ever hidden anything from her, but the woman couldn't possibly be hoping for a future with her if she saw who she really was and what she would bring with herself. “Johanna, people will begin to talk-”

Johanna huffed, looking partly amused even at the face of Maven’s distress. They had never spoken to each other like this, so truthfully and openly, and it felt freeing to finally do so.

“People have already begun to talk. That’s what people do, after all.”

Stopping her movements, Maven accidently made Johanna bump into her. For a second, their faces were so close that they would kiss if either of them leaned forward.

“Your village knows?”

Johanna shrugged. “They don’t _know_. But there are those who began to wonder, naturally.”

It had come to Johanna as no surprise when villagers began to whisper behind her back. It would have been shocking if nobody did, since every morning after a storm she could be seen walking down the infamous vampire’s hill, but that hadn’t been affecting her in the least. Thanks to her daughter’s adventurous spirit, those who were particularly scared of monsters and magic already weren’t close to their little family, so none of her friends had distanced themselves because of Johanna’s unusual behaviour. As for others, Johanna was having no small amounts of fun hearing their absurd theories about what she did when she was away, and it wasn’t like they could affect her livelihood in any way. She was one of the best seamstresses in town, what were they going to do, walk around naked?

Taking a step backwards to restart the slow dance, the vampire sighed as she struggled to come to terms with Johanna’s calm. “Doesn’t that bother you? If you’re not careful, you’ll become the village’s pariah.”

“Not really. I’m not scared of them, it’s not like they’d burn me alive or anything like that.”

Maven had already run away from enough villagers with stakes to doubt the veracity of that statement.

“And aren’t you scared of me?” She asked somberly, hoping this time Jlhanna would think her answer through. She’d never said out loud that she was a monster, so the question, the act of admitting that she _was_ something to be scared off ought to have had some effect on her. Maven hadn’t expected that effect to be laughter, though.

“Of _you_?” Johanna replied while still chuckling, with the humor of someone who had been vulnerable near the creature in front of her too many times to be able to believe any of the tales she’d heard. Right from the first night, when she’d genuinely had to seek refuge until morning, she’d seen that Maven wasn’t what it was said she was, and as she had walked out of the castle at sunrise she’d become living proof of it. There was something bewitching about her, though, and it made Johanna keep coming back with ridiculous excuses to see her. The time they spent together only served to prove that Maven wasn’t what she herself thought she was either. “I wouldn't really be here if I were, would I? It’s not like you put your fangs to my throat and threatened me should I not come or anything.”

Maven winced almost imperceptibly at the comment, not liking the reminder of the harm she could bring to Johanna if she so wishes and downright disoriented by the fact that she knew it too, and still insisted on not being afraid.

“You talk so much about Hilda’s taste for befriending monsters, yet you seem keen on doing much worse.”

“This time I really don't know what you mean.” Johanna smiled. “I see no monsters here.”

_#_#_#_

The rest of the night was spent as usual. They soon finished their dancing and went to the library, where Johanna picked a poetry book to read while Maven continued on her tome about scientific discoveries that had been made recently in the capital. Though she knew she was probably reading too much into it, Maven thought that Johanna had chosen to begin a new book instead of finishing the one she’d been reading on her last visit in order to send a message. _You’re not getting rid of me that easily_ was what was written in her face when she asked for permission to sit down with her new book on the armchair next to her.

The woman had wanted to go to sleep eventually. Sometimes she would stay awake with Maven all night, but she’d already need to stay up late for the harvest feast. In the room she often took, small enough to keep in the heat of the fire yet bigger than Johanna’s entire living room, she tucked herself under the white covers while Maven stood awkwardly by the side of the bed.

A smirk on her lips, she patted the spot beside her in invitation. Generally, Maven would go away and come back when Johanna was pretending to be asleep, so she could hold her close and Johanna could pretend she wasn’t holding her back. It was a weird game that they played, but it still felt strange to drop it altogether and climb into bed while Johanna looked at her. Maven didn’t need to sleep, of course, but when the sun rose she still was by the human’s side.

“We’ll be near the main bonfire.” Johanna said as she put her cape over her shoulders in the morning, readying herself to leave. “If you can’t spot me, you’ll be able to find Hilda and she can tell you where i am. She’ll probably be running after some spirit, you see.”

Before Maven could answer, Johanna leaned towards her and kissed her cheek, just before lowering her hood over her face and walking out of the castle’s door.

_#_#_#_

The matter of whether or not she’d accept Johanna’s invitations had been gnawing at her soul the whole day, and nothing she did could shake it off. She’d been so resolute about leaving Johanna be, and yet now she couldn’t seem to keep strong in that decision.

It was only when night fell that she set her foot down, quieting the two conflicting parts of her mind. If Johanna was certain of her choice, why should Maven be the one to back away? Maybe she'd turn out to be a better person than she thought she was. Maybe, if given a chance, she could be what Johanna deserved. It hadn’t happened in centuries, but perhaps, if she gave it a try, she’d be surprised.

All that time, Johanna had gone through the trouble of visiting her. It sounded only fair that she was the one to go to her for once.

It was a quick trip on her bat form. She knew Johanna lived on the village by the west base of the hill, and indeed Maven noticed the bonfire at its center. Landing on the outskirts of the town to come back to her usual form, she kept her gaze down as she walked to the crowd. Usually she wouldn’t be afraid of being recognized by anyone who might have known what she looked like, but not bringing Johanna any trouble mattered more than keeping her own pride in that moment.

Looking for Hilda hadn’t been necessary. Even when she got to the main square, where the air was heavy with the scent of cinnamon spice and pumpkin and the torches and bonfires gave everything a yellowish glow, Maven had been able to spot Johanna. She was near an older woman, with short grey hair, talking to her with a cup of something warm on her hand. 

For one last moment, Maven considered turning back and letting the woman forget about her, probably for her best, but then Johanna looked at her and any thoughts of that sort faded away. She smiled and gestured for Maven to get closer, the woman by her side noticing her and looking at her with curiosity as well, which made Maven wonder if Johanna had told her about her.

“I’m so happy you came!” She said, looking at her like Maven had just saved her life. They both knew this was a matter much greater than of just showing up to an event, and the reality of what had been done, along with the new possibilities for the future that had been spread out in front of them dawned on the two women. 

On the border of her vision, Maven saw the other woman smile at them and walk away after wishing Johanna a good night. Johanna grabbed her guest’s hand, pulling her closer. When she realized she should probably answer, Maven cleared her throat.

“I’m very glad to be here too.”

Johanna’s smile widened.

“What would you like to do first? Hilda said she’ll meet us when supper gets served, but there’s still time until that. We can join the group that is getting offerings ready for the faeries, or we could go see the cunning woman! She’s been telling some amazing stories since morning.”

“Johanna, wait.” Squeezing her hand to get her to stay in place, Maven took a deep breath. Though neither options really pleased her, as she knew a cunning woman would know what she was immediately upon setting eyes on her, and she wasn’t about to leave anything to petulant beings such as _faeries_ , the reason why she had halted Johanna was that there was something she needed to get out of the way.

Her head tilted to the side, Johanna blinked at her as she waited for Maven to continue. The golden light from the fire made her thick lashes cast moon shaped shadows on her skin.

“I know you waited very long for me to… do something. I’m sorry about it, and I want to do this right.”

“You don’t need to apologize. You’re here now.”

“Still.” Maven shrugged, trying to hide her anxiety. “May I kiss you?”

There was no answer before Johanna pressed her lips to hers, making Maven inhale sharply. She’d been thinking about something more private, not wanting to expose the woman, but no complaints would be heard from her part. She took control of the kiss, trying to deepen it in a way that her fangs didn’t hurt her, and hard as it was to maneuver it she couldn’t possibly have felt any better.

“I didn’t cut you, did I?” She asked when they drew apart, even though the grin on Johanna’s face should have been enough of an answer.

“Of course you didn’t.” Johanna was sure there was a blush on her face as she answered giddily, feeling like she was in one of her daydreams. “I told you already, there are no monsters here.”

Maven failed to wipe the dreamy smile off of her face as Johanna guided her through the crowd. It wouldn’t matter that Maven was as a creature as dark as the night around them. If Johanna had enough light to insist on her, they’d make it work.

**Author's Note:**

> Imagine trying to break up with your girlfriend and she just goes. No 🙂.


End file.
